


We were Made to Burn: Galo-hen

by Rinichey



Series: Matching Embers [1]
Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: AU, Backstory, Burnish Galo Thymos, Destroying children's dreams, Galo as a teen, Gen, Old Mad Burnish, On the Run
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:33:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22402630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rinichey/pseuds/Rinichey
Summary: It'd been two months since the merging of Lio and Galo's teams to form a burnish settlement just beyond Promepolis. In searching for Galo one day Lio finds more than just him.
Series: Matching Embers [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1612324
Comments: 4
Kudos: 45





	We were Made to Burn: Galo-hen

**Author's Note:**

> For those of you who've read "Disastrous Love", this takes place in the same universe and could be considered a prequel. However, you don't need this story or Disastrous Love to be able to understand either. 
> 
> I'm looking to set up a Curious Cat account soon, so if you're interested keep an eye on my Twitter @Rinichey to see when that goes up! I'll be answering questions about Promare stories I'm working on or anything else that tickles your fancy!

“Where’s Galo?” Lio caught himself asking that question more often. How could it be so hard to find a single person in such a small encampment? There wasn’t anywhere to hide that no one wouldn’t know about.

It had only been two months since Galo and Lio’s teams merged together and joined forces for the same cause. What was once a small handful of people had grown into a small camp, enough that they had to be more cautious in how they moved through the Waste. One of those months was dedicated to doing exactly that, conjuring large vehicles and making pit stops in ruined remains of decrypted civilizations of past.

Now, taking residency in a miraculously standing parking garage, Lio was seeing his vision come together. They were hundreds of miles out from Promepolis, a safe enough distance that Freeze Force barely patrolled, with enough surviving burnish that satisfied the primary reason Mad Burnish was created. Blood and forged families strung clotheslines as outlines for their homes, children laughed, small talk returned.

It was tough going at first, but finally, _finally_ , Lio could reach his one true dream.

If only Galo would show his damn face.

“Has _anyone_ seen Galo Thymos?” With enough shaking heads his irritation melted into worry. Galo was never gone. His loud and proud voice would always echo from somewhere.

Had he gone off on a mission? He was a hard one to leash down, especially after their initial first impressions. General status wasn’t good enough for him once offers were on the table during their merge. It only took a test of power that forged the leash Lio needed to finally get Galo to submit. He’d spent six months shaping Mad Burnish to his cause; he wouldn’t let some hotshot from the North take that title.

Walking around the convoy, he let a few kids run past as he headed towards one of the corners where a few moth-eaten rugs were hung by string. He folded back enough to slip his head through. “Thyma?”

The only figure in the small enclosed space spooked, glancing over her shoulder. “I nearly lost my concentration!”

Lio started with an apology but it stayed on his tongue when Thyma turned completely with her lower arm encased in massive beast-like armor. The claws were jagged with razor-edges and every point gleamed in what little sunlight escaped through the cracks.

“Impressive, right?” Thyma gloated at no doubt his awed expression. She leaned her other hand onto her metal chair and flexed the monstrous fingers. “Took me a few hours just to conjure it. I’m seeing how long I can make it last.”

If Gueira had been there he’d be hollering about how impressive the sheer size was. It was easily three times larger than Gueria’s hulk-like armor. Lio pulled back the rug further to stand up straight. “How long have you held it so far?”

“Hmmm,” Thyma let go of the chair to poke her chin. “Maybe an hour?” At the slightest turn of her head, the sheen of sweat sparkled. “But I’m fine right now. Just gotta… not do much.”

“Don’t overexert yourself.” He made a mental note to bring some water for Thyma. Still, her impressive dedication to expanding upon how far a burnish could push themselves was jaw-dropping.

“Pssh, this is nothing.” Thyma chided. “And soon, it won’t be anything for you guys! Freeze Force won’t be the only monkeys in large intimidating suits!”

He waved off the monkey part, reminded why he came here. “Have you seen Galo?”

“You mean he’s not tailing after you?” She lowly whistled. “That’s a first.”

Another comment to ignore and another fluster of his heart that Galo wasn’t doing exactly that. “No one has seen him. He didn’t mention any offhand secret recon missions?”

Thyma’s eyebrows furrowed, beginning to mirror that same worry. “No he hasn’t, he—” She shortly gasped. “Wait! Shoot! Is that today?”

Her sudden turn thrust the wall of razor edges directly at him. He jumped back as the rugs were sliced clean off and the one-handed guillotine lodged itself with spindling cracks into the adjacent wall. Thyma tried turning back and failed miserably. “H-hey!” It was too firmly stuck no matter how much she pulled on her tiny arm. “D-Dammit! Let go!”

Like a crackle of fire, the armor burst to morph into wisps of butterflies that melded together and lied as smoke under the ceiling. Thyma pulled her gloved hand back to her chest. “Man… that was my best one.”

Stepping cautiously in, he stayed by the shortened rugs while Thyma fished a ratty calendar off the wall and counted the days. “Yesterday was… Saturday… yup!” Spinning on her heels, she showed a faded day with a frowny face drawn on it. “It’s ah… Galo’s going to be gone all day today.”

“Do you know where?” The frowny face didn’t convey anything to him, but from the way Thyma worried her lip it wasn’t anything good.

“He should be somewhere outside. Never goes too far…” She scrunched her eyebrows. “I can’t believe I nearly forgot.”

Lio was getting a hunch about what all this was. No one should be alone for it, pulling back what was left of the rug. “Thank you.”

“If you do go see him,” Thyma crouched down to a small potted plant, the only one she had after many failed attempts. A few petty flowers were all her effort. With a few sizzling pinches at the stems, she held up two. “Could you take these as well? I usually stay with him.”

He took the gentle, frail flowers. “Why not come with?”

“Eh, well,” A catty smile sprouted on her lips. “I’m sure if the boss is going to see his top general, I shouldn’t be a part of it.”

Leaning so smugly back on her chair, Lio would let her have her delusional fantasies of what that even meant. He did have business to talk about, but this was purely making sure Galo was fine.

Parts of the spiraling parking garage had been eroded over time, which made walking down the structure impossible. One of the few perks of being burnish allowed him to scale what others couldn’t with simple propulsion of his flames.

The sun was too harsh on his skin when he walked outside, arm over his head as he peered out into the sandy cemetery. There was no point in yelling his name with nothing to see.

As he rounded the corner into the dark shadows did he finally spot Galo, head bent and on his knees. The dry winds didn’t reach back here, a quiet sanctuary from their normally chaotic lives. The closer he drew he noticed a small colorful rug and two incense burning inside a hand-made vase, with thin trails disappearing over Galo’s head.

Galo didn’t move even when he stood by his side, perhaps too lost in concentration. As he kneeled he realized his ridiculous solo sleeve sat between them. Trails of faded burn marks covered his skin in large angry curls and Lio had to resist reaching out to stroke them.

Then, Galo suddenly opened his eyes. They screamed while Galo tumbled onto his ass, propped up only by his elbows. “FUCK! What the hell, Lio!” Galo clutched his chest as Lio merely blinked at him. “Could have told me you were here! I nearly burned you to a crisp!”

The mere thought brought an amused smile. “Would have liked to see you try.”

As Galo sat back up, Lio pressed his hands together, giving a small bow to the incense. “… what are you doing?”

“Paying my respects.” Lio opened one eye to Galo, who seemed to catch on.

“Ah… thank you.” His normally boastful voice was solemn, mimicking the same gesture. “… It’s for my parents.”

Lio’s heart dropped even if he’d steeled himself for the worst. “I’m sorry.”

“It was a long time ago.” Galo murmured.

Cracking open his eyes, he noticed the swaying petals and passed them onto Galo. It took Galo off guard with a growing blush as Lio imagined how this looked. “Thyma sends these.”

“Oh!” It was a mixture of surprise and some disappointment. He delicately took them and placed them between the incense. “She does this every year.”

“So I’ve been told.”

As Galo went back to paying his respects, Lio kept his eyes on the massive burns. His skin crawled up his upper back, ghosting dull pain. His hands settled into his lap. “Why do you have scars?”

Galo only turned his head, a little confused. “I got burned?”

Lio shook his head. “That’s obvious. Why haven’t you healed them?” A little wiggle of his fingers produced some sparks that blew away on the air. “A simple touchup of your flames should remove them. Do you need help?”

He was more than properly trained to heal his brethren, and Galo would be no different. But instead of jumping on his offer, he bittersweetly smiled. “No thanks. I’ve had these for years.”

“You can still heal them so long as your fire is healthy.” He started to reach out but Galo’s hand met his, intertwining fingers.

The gesture burned his cheeks as Galo’s voice was resolved. “I want them to stay.”

Lio stared up trying to search for an answer. “Why?”

“Because it’s a part of me.” His fingers splayed over the dead skin. “My biggest insecurity… one of the worst days of my life… but something I have to remember.”

From the way Galo eyed him he could catch a glimpse of the deep, buried past that made Galo Thymos. It reflected upon his own, keeping his hand together in Galo’s. “Tell me everything.”

“You sure?” Galo asked, but didn’t wait for an answer. They nestled with their backs together as Lio admired the bright blue of the sky. “There was more than one reason I came back here. I was born and raised in Promepolis, and it was my home for 14 years…”

* * *

Galo didn’t care in the slightest if it was silly and immature for him to be making siren sounds. The large firefighter helmet sat funny on his head while he maneuvered the wheel, slamming his hand just above the horn. “Make way for Burning Rescue! Beware all fires and evildoers!”

Another fake slam to the horn. He pushed into his seat only to then awkwardly shuffle his head out of the window. “This is a big one, Captain! Gonna need to use all our power to put out this fire!”

“Galo!” The sharp inclination slammed his hand into the wheel, producing a high-pitched wail. He immediately took his hand off and glanced out the window to another teenager dressed in a janitorial outfit two sizes too big with a mop in hand. “This is the third time I’ve caught you in there! Get out!”

“I’m just playing around!” He stuck his tongue out but still kicked the door open and slid down. He fumbled to his feet, pushing the helmet up to his head. “I’m training for when I become a real firefighter!”

“Yeah right.” The teenager rolled his eyes. “You do realize you’re only here because Governor Foresight allowed it, right?”

Galo simply beamed brighter, puffing his chest. “I totally know! It means I’m more awesome than I thought! Just you wait, Remi, I’ll be the biggest new firefighter when I’m an adult!”

“Remi! Galo!” The even sharper snap had both ram-rod straight with arms at their sides. The Captain of District 3 was making his way over, eyeing the opened fire truck. “I told you not to play with the vehicle, Galo.”

“Sorry, Mr. Ex!” Galo made sure to bow especially low, despite Remi’s short glance. “I just really, really wanted to know what it felt like to drive it! My burn-ah, my soul really called to it!”

_“So you were always a troublemaker, even as a teen.”_

_“You can’t just put a kid inside a firehouse and not have them get excited! Everything was so shiny and cool!”_

_“Are you sure you weren’t 10?”_

Galo peeked up to try and figure out if he was in trouble or not, but the thick sunglasses hardly helped read Ignis’ face. “Maybe when you’re a little older. But we need the mobile ready at any moment in case of a fire or burnish attack.”

“S-sir!” Remi piped in with knees shaking. “I finished cleaning the bathrooms and the break room like you asked!”

“I saw,” Remi quietly gasped under his breath, with both boys wide-eyed when Ignis placed a hand on his shoulder. “Good work. You’re really carving a place for yourself here.”

“T-Thank you, sir!” Now Remi was the one bowing low as Galo slightly pouted.

“I just got off the line with Governor Foresight. He’s on his way to pick you up, so grab your things.” The mention of Foresight snapped Galo back to attention.

He followed after Ignis with a fire in his gut. “You’re gonna be there this afternoon, right? You and Remi? And all of Burning Rescue?”

Ignis stopped as Galo ran in front of him with fists pumped to his sides. “I can’t guarantee it if we get called out.” Just before the words could settle Ignis lifted the hat off of Galo’s head and situated it correctly. “But I’ll make sure we all attend otherwise.”

Bright hope filled Galo’s chest as he sported his happiest grin, holding the helmet to ensure it’d stay on properly. “I’ll be looking for you! See you there!”

Remi came to his side as the Captain’s door closed, awe in his voice. “Isn’t Captain the coolest guy you’ve ever met?”

“Almost,” Galo let one hand fall and thrust it at his chest. “Governor Foresight will always be number one in my soul! It’s the entire reason I want to save people, just like how he saved me!”

“I want to be just like him,” Remi added as he leaned his arm on his mop. “Confident, cool… I’m going to do it, Galo!” The mop slapped with his tap. “I’m going to work my way up and become Captain of my own district! I won’t be a part-time janitor forever!”

“And I’ll be the greatest firefighter ever!” Galo chimed in, thrusting his arm up with fist clenched tightly.

For once, Remi met his theatrics with his own grin, tapping a mirrored arm to his. “Together!”

“Together!”

“And… after we pass high school,” Remi added painfully that dropped their pact.

“Why’d you have to add that?” Galo slipped the helmet off his head to scratch his scalp. “My eyes always go cross-eye whenever I have to do those boring tests.”

“It doesn’t get any better.” Remi sighed and clutched his mop with two hands. “Anyway, go get your stuff. I’m sure Foresight is going to be here any minute.”

The fact it was Foresight coming that jittered Galo’s bones. He almost never came whenever he was picked up and dropped off, leaving it to his secretary or some large and intimidating guard. Remi went to fetch the rest of his cleaning supplies as Galo rushed back over to the mobile, scrambling up into the seat. His brightly colored backpack displaying large robots sat in the passenger seat. The helmet was exchanged for the backpack and with a hefty snatch he jumped back down and his blood ran cold.

Where he stepped were small licks of orange and mint fire trying to grow into something more. He bit his lip, eyeing the unmoving Captain’s door and quickly retraced his steps to smother every flame. “Sorry!” He whispered under his breath with every stomp.

Only when he felt the last one extinguish under his foot that he let out a largely held breath and slipped his backpack on.

_“How long had you been burnish?”_

_“Since the fire. I awoke days later in the hospital, but Kray covered up everything involving it. If he hadn’t, I don’t know if I would have made it out of the city.”_

_“Fire?”_

_“A giant nasty one. Burned my house down with my… parents still trapped inside.”_

_“I’m sorry.”_

_“I only got out safe because of Kray. Then, when I was just watching TV in the hospital the voices came. I set the entire room on fire by accident. But instead of being locked up, Kray made it all vanish like it never happened.”_

_“He must have had a motive.”_

Hustling over to the main entrance, Galo ran around the corner just in time to witness the powerful man himself stepping through the doors. He could barely contain his excitement, fluffing down his hair before any spontaneous flames could spout off. “Governor Foresight!”

He always looked his best, and today was obviously no exception. Garbed in holy white with not a speck or loose strand of hair to offset the purity. Galo couldn’t help but charge over but stopped himself from hugging his superior. He tried saluting, stiff as a board. “It’s great to see you again! I’ve missed you a lot! Er, well, I’ve been fine, but you know! It’s been a long time!”

Ever imposing of a man, yet the gentlest of voices choired out. “It has been. Work has been keeping me busy with this new policy.”

_“You’re laying it on thick.”_

_“I’m trying to set the scene! Kid-me worshipped this guy!”_

_“A gross misplacement of your trust and affection.”_

“But you’re here! We’re here! Today is the day!” He could spin from the rush of adrenaline, tempted to, but Kray was already beckoning him to come along. He followed after like a duckling, constantly eyeing back to make sure no excitable flames were showing. Breathe, keep steady.

Remi had just retrieved his bucket as Ignis seemed to be in the middle of giving him an order, the two shooting him a wave as he threw two back. “Bye Mr. Ex! Bye Remi! See you later!”

Nothing could have ruined his mood. With the limo door opened he crawled in first to the very end, buckling his seatbelt while Kray took the very opposite end. He knew how much Kray liked his personal space, content to just tap his shoes together and look out the window. He waited with little patience for the sliding glass screen to hide the driver and the car to move before speaking up. “I’ve been rehearsing my part all week, sir! Put in a lot of good practice trying to memorize my lines!”

He slung his backpack into his lap and fished through the main compartment for a few loose note cards with clear burn marks. “But ah, sometimes I got too nervous! Think anyone will notice?”

“That’s great, Galo.” Kray had settled his hands into a conjoined fist in his lap, hardly turning to look. “I’m sure they’ll be fine. After all, today is about you.”

“Not just me!” The excitement was getting to him again while he stuffed his note cards away. “All burnish! I can’t believe no one has thought to just talk to us!”

“What people don’t understand frightens them, and what frightens them enables them to act irrationally.” Kray merely stared at the reflection in the tinted glass. “But ever since you came into my life, I’ve realized that peace can be established between humans and burnish. That being burnish isn’t evil by nature.”

It settled some warmth into his chest, toes knocking together. “And then you’ll let the burnish back into the city?”

“Of course.” Kray waved it off. “They’ve been cordially invited to this press meeting too. Everyone is welcome.”

“And then…” Hope blossomed deep inside his heart and mind, gazing up. “I can stop hiding? Remi… my friends… they can know?”

“By the end of today, everyone will know.” Kray finally glanced over to Galo with that radiant smile of his. “After all, you are the catalyst for all of this.”

It tickled so much that he started giggling, the emotions bubbling over. He let them intensify into the crackling waves of fire that he always felt in his soul.

“ _Galo_.” The fire extinguished with a languid wheeze, save for his smoldering backpack.

He yelled and began swatting the top to put out the last of his flames. The scolding gaze Kray shot brought his feet up onto the expensive leather, backpack over his chest. “Sorry, sir.”

“Keep yourself in line.” Was all Kray said as both went back to their respective windows.

It was a quiet drive from there onward. He ran through his cards a few more times, mouthing the words in silence in hopes of not forgetting anything. Everything relied on him doing his absolute best.

When they pulled up to the capital, Kray was the first to exit the vehicle with his secretary already waiting in the wings. Like him, she trailed after him pulling papers from her clipboard with neither waiting for Galo to get out. Kray was a busy man, so he understood the rush. “Don’t worry, I got this!”

Only his secretary glanced back with a forced smile. His was also forced until the attention was off him, sighing. The security that waited showed him to a different sector of the capital, up the pristine steps and down the marbled halls. The press conference wasn’t for a few hours, but he was given an empty and windowless conference room to get dressed in with some coloring books, two crayons and a promise from security to retrieve him when the meeting started.

The crayons were given a sad eye, picking one up as he set his backpack down onto the gigantic table. “Man… I’m not some kid.”

From the half-torn paper around the nub of the red crayon, he knew they hadn’t bought anything new from the years they shoved it into his hands whenever he had to stay here. But through much groaning, complaining to the ceiling, pacing the room, playing with his fire, getting dressed and getting some energy out, Galo finally heard the door open and he was ushered out.

The dress shoes were too tight, the dress pants were too long, and the jacket was too loose. He tried his best to tie his own tie but security took one look at the mangled mess and fixed it accordingly. This wasn’t him at all, but it was what Kray picked out, so he would wear it proudly.

The halls felt too massive at that moment, with everyone so much taller than his lanky form. He wished at that moment for that height when his shadow felt so great. Did he take his note cards? Patting his pockets, his eyebrows lurched up, voice stuttering. “I-I need to go back. I don’t—”

But with another firm shove that they were out of time he kept moving. All the words went right out of his head no matter how hard he tried to grasp them; running over a speech that only had a few sparse words left.

The light felt too bright when they stepped outside to the massive crowd of cameras and onlookers. On the outside perimeter were carcopters with Freeze Force soldiers on either side of Kray and around the premises. He’d never seen so many soldiers for one meeting, with most of them eyeing him as they descended the steps.

Breathe, keep steady. Every step shook as he no-doubt looked like he was about to be hit by an oncoming truck. The sandwich Ignis gave him for lunch was seeking a way back up his throat and his hands felt clammy, needing to spark to calm down. Fists bunched, teeth gritted, he swallowed that desire to _burn_.

“…Which is why I’ve decided that this new policy will be named; The Galo Thymos Policy.” And just like that, the nervousness melted away. When Kray glanced back to him, standing just short of the podium with that golden smile of his, all his pride fixed into his tender gaze, he felt something spark inside his chest. There was the first he’d heard of the policy’s official name.

A stool was provided as Kray moved back, gesturing to him. “Now please, if everyone could give their attention to the young man himself.”

A small round of applause prefaced Kray standing beside him, gesturing for Galo to step up. He did so as he felt all the eyes drawn to him. The reporters, the news crews, the Freeze Force guards. But his eyes were drawn immediately to the giant fire truck parked in the back and the firefighters huddled nearby. He saw Remi and Ignis’ gazes, with the teenager waving.

He could do this.

Inhaling deeply, he lowered his voice just a tad. “M-my name is Galo Thymos. And I…” The words locked up in his throat, noticing all the mics attached to the podium. Every order, every stern talking to by Kray to keep his powers hidden, to pretend he was human came rushing back in. That no one would accept him if he slipped; that everyone would leave him and he’d be banished to the outskirts of Promepolis. People were unconsciously leaning in closer and he noticed Kray make a small gesture to keep going.

He breathed again, shaking hands outstretched. “I…” Two loud snaps unleashed his fires over the tips of his fingers. He migrated them to the palms of his hands, letting them linger as gasps overtook the crowds. “I am burnish.”

His eyes went straight to Ignis, whose arms were bunched tighter, still unable to read his expression. Remi, on the other hand, seemed wildly shocked.

“This boy,” He felt a cold hand rest on his left shoulder, lowering his arm as Kray leaned into the podium. “Has taught me that not all burnish are the evils we make them out to be. Through the lens of poor souls such as these, I believe we can finally bridge the gap between understanding what makes humans become burnish, and once more find a way to live in harmony.”

It felt degrading, regarded as a poor soul, but something had changed in the audience. The frightened stares melted away into claps, witnessing a new hope being birthed. He felt it tickle his flames as he held up his hand, letting the orange and greens swirl together in perfect harmony.

_“It’s…hard to describe what happened next.”_

_“You don’t have to.”_

_“I mean like… I don’t know how it happened.”_

Surges of pillaring flames engulfed the stadium, snapping outward towards the crowds. People screamed, equipment dropped, sirens blared. Galo fell from the podium as searing flames engulfed his arm, grasping it with feverish cries. A white-hot fire burned through his veins that he’d never felt, staring down through bleary eyes to the trembling arm and the red lashes across it.

“Governor Foresight!” Galo called out, turning his head back towards the out of control fires. Kray was down on his knees, grasping his arm with gritted teeth.

“G-Galo…” His stomach dropped at the pained tone. But as soon as he tried to get to his knees he was knocked back down with freezing pain. His legs were encased in a ring of ice as his hands were forced back and done the same.

His vision was to the scattering audience, who didn’t get far from the soldiers ready with guns cocked. “No one leaves!”

Everything was down spiraling into utter chaos, mind frantic as his hands blazed, unable to control anything, let alone his breathing. “Let me go!!”

The pink and red flames licking at the stage weren’t flames he could summon, seeming oddly familiar in the back of his mind. He’d seen them before but knew one thing was for certain. “It wasn’t me! I didn’t do this!!”

“Who else could have?” The icy tone froze Galo. He’d never seen Kray so disappointed, so raw with betrayal. He held his injured left arm, but something about that didn’t seem right. “It erupted from the stage. From _you_.”

“That’s a lie!” Galo sputtered, but a heavy boot stomped into his back with the barrel of a gun staring him down.

“Pipe down, burnish!”

The chaos was worsening as plumes of colorful fire engulfed a few panicked people. Burnish that had come to witness the event now fought to escape amongst a crowd of horror and weapons firing icy prisons.

“It seems I was wrong about burnish.” Kray continued, glancing off to the side. “Eventually, they show their true colors.”

Galo was stunned to silence, his beloved idol turning away with a flick of his hand back. “See to it Mr. Thymos is locked away where he can’t hurt anyone else.”

The cold, heart-wrenching reality of the situation was finally sinking in. Everything Kray had feared for him was coming true, gritting his teeth as fresh tears poured out. “I’m not bad! I’m not a monster! Governor Foresight!”

“Shut up!” The harsh bark took the words out of his mouth. The Kray that turned back was neither his hero nor idol. “I have nothing to say to assassins.”

Just as Kray turned, sentencing Galo to his prison did trails of fire hammer down onto the stage in a frenzied fire. Kray dodged and hid behind the podium but the soldier over Galo’s body wasn’t so lucky as he fell in screaming pain.

Try as he might to struggle the ice was too frigid, summoning deep within him a fire that he’d been scared his entire life to unleash. The wood splintered and crackled from the wild discharge as his cuffs melted and he sprung to his feet.

“Kray Foresight!” The holler above came from a rush of four armored individuals that leaped from the surrounding buildings. The massive tendrils of fire they slid down swallowed a few carcopters, to pose triumphantly center stage. Each with their own jungle beast armor, they looked more to be wannabe crimefighters than terrorists. The rest joined the crowd as the bulky humanoid lion with a mane of razor-sharp edges advanced on Kray. “Your head will be ours today!”

_“They sound like Mad Burnish before I joined.”_

_“They were. It didn’t start with Gueira and Meis.”_

He jerked in his frozen stance, contemplating rushing between the newcomer that summoned two pistols at Kray, but the screech in the frenzied crowd took his attention. A blast of fire dispersed the crowd surrounding a little girl who held out her arms almost unaware of the fire. “Daddy! Daddy where are you?”

The upcoming Freeze Force member to her back caused a knee-jerk reaction, leaping off the stage as many citizens parted like water at the mere sight of him. “Get away from her!”

His left arm was entirely useless but he still charged into the circle between the frightened girl who had just tripped and the burly adult cocking a semi. He threw up his one good hand, feeling all his fire flood into his feet and down into the cement, mimicking the same wall of blaze in his signature colors.

Ice breezed past the open sides, scarring the ground in demented sculptures that he quickly swept up and pushed his hand forward to send the fiery wall out. He turned to the sobbing girl, whose bright pink bow in her messy light red hair was torn. She didn’t look to be a day older than ten, her arms scraped from a nasty fall. “Daddy!”

_“Is that?”_

_“Sssshh! No more talking!”_

“H-hey, it’s okay!” Galo bent down on one knee, hesitant to reach through the yellow embers surrounding the crying child. But as he pushed his fingers closer they didn’t burn like the flames that left permanent scars, continuing through to hold the girl’s arm. Light blue eyes opened in fear but settled into curiosity as he let his flames roll over his form. “See? I’m just like you! And we’re gonna get through this!”

The girl finally took notice of the fire from the way her eyes widened. “Wh-why isn’t it burning?”

A newly awakened burnish, Galo had to surmise. The poor thing was at the wrong place at the wrong time. “It’s a long story!” Grasping her arm, he pulled her up and close. “Right now…”

Right now _what_? The meeting had gone to hell, turning more into a warzone with the number of soldiers trying to incapacitate the few innocent souls that had shown up. Anywhere he looked had some amount of danger and his arm was crossing into numb from the dull, lingering burning.

The soldier seemed to have shaken off his earlier attack for he soon returned, blasting right over their heads. “Damn brats!”

“Government mutts!” Anything Galo could have done was undermined by the massive coils of a blazing serpent ramming straight into the soldier. He suddenly felt a hot hand on his back and the little girl’s with a wicked black helmet overlooking the two. “Move a little quicker, children! These guys don’t play around!”

“Where’s daddy?” The little girl seemed on the verge of starting back up with the armored mysterious man tightening his hold around her.

“You need to worry about yourself right now.”

Galo kept his grip tight on the girl to make sure she didn’t run off, jogging with the hurried pushes. “Is Governor Foresight okay?”

“Let’s hope not!” The man jested, turning his head suddenly to the middle of the chaos. Where the podium once stood had become a battlefield of ice and fire with the lion fighter taking on a fool-hardy, laughing soldier. “Boss! Kids!”

“You know what to do!” A feminine voice shouted back in a very annoyed tone. She twirled out of the way of a wayward blast, pulling from the embers around her to summon fire-breathing beasts to rush the iceberg. It was both horrifying and awe-struck, Galo watching the way the beasts put weight into their flaming steps and how their fiery fur waved.

“Don’t let any of them escape!” An order was hollered followed by more mindless screams of civilians.

The ground was swept away from Galo and into the mysterious person’s arms along with the girl through a hurried run. Ice exploded and tried to catch them, breezing by a few shots that were too close for comfort. “Achilles!”

One of the larger black suits who was tearing into the side of a carcopter with a huge metallic hammer slowed. “Eh? Oh! Got it!”

Massive plumes ruptured out of the cracked cement, shifting together with bright white lines until metallic chunks snapped together forming a larger than life catapult. Galo’s heart seized as he tried getting down. “Wait, stop! I gotta find Mr. Ex and Governor Foresight!”

“No time!” The armor didn’t sound too concerned with his concerns with the girl thrashing just as hard to getaway.

“Let me go! Daddy, daddy save me!”

Smashed together, Galo tried to establish space from the squirming girl as their world shrunk increasingly small inside a blackened orb. A small green see-through window at the top was their only sight and the only place Galo thought to bang upon. “Let us out!”

The girl tried helping with her weak fists, screaming, but all they accomplished was feeling the orb settle. He had to get out and back to the chaos. It wasn’t him; Kray had to have known. Were Ignis and Remi okay? Would anyone be? His mind continued to blend into hapless mush, helpless to watch the top of the figure throw his arm. “Launch!”

His stomach, heart, and the rest of his organs smashed into his ribcage as he was forced into the wall, eyes squeezed shut. The faint squeak beside him was all he could tell if the girl was alright or not. He couldn’t reach out to her, let alone open his eyes. The tears he wanted to cry were forced back in.

When the pressure became almost unbearable there was a violent snap that surged them into the opposite end. His left arm smashed first, reigniting the blinding pain with a few more bashes to their prison until it slowed.

Galo’s world was blotchy with reds and blacks, letting out a guttural groan. The warm solid surface dissolved away for something hot and loose, wind on his back. He tried lifting his head but his limbs wouldn’t respond, cracking his eyes open. The girl lay a few feet away, unmoving as his eyes shut at the tan cloud in a sea of yellow and blue.

Mumbling voices stirred him awake after what felt like a lifetime of being unconscious. His body was one giant bruise, groaning as his eyelids fluttered. Instead of a cloudless sky, he only saw a poorly constructed metal roof with pinholes. He lied on something hard and uncomfortable, letting his head roll to the side.

“There, there,” A comforting voice spoke to the young girl, already up and rubbing her eyes. A man nearly as large as Kray was holding her other hand allowing blue flames to travel up his arm and meet with the yellow sparks around her wrist. “Feelin’ better?”

“N-No,” She sniffled, using the same hand to wipe her nose. “…Yes. Can I go home?”

“Soon,” His soul lingered in his tone, patting the top of her hand while his flames died.

“The boy is up!” Another voice outside his vision hollered and the giant turned to him. While the girl continued to look miserable the man smiled gently.

“You took quite a nasty landin’. How bad you feelin’?”

The moment Galo tried to move his arms he hissed through his teeth. “B-Bad.” Everything felt broken with only a pathetic struggle to attempt to get on his side.

The man gained a sympathetic look and sat up from a rickety stool. “I’m real sorry. They should have been gentler.”

Who ‘they’ was the man was talking about Galo didn’t care to know. He continued to struggle, but all he did was tremble and gasp. Grasping the stool like a toothpick, the man set it down and enwrapped his right hand into both of his. “Focus. Breathe. Let your flames loose.”

The idea of willfully allowing them to take over frightened Galo right back to the battlefield. His fingers shyly curled away from his touch but the man simply took his fist. “It’s okay. No one is going to hurt you. You’re free to be yourself.”

Free? The word was unfamiliar, yet it was all he needed to feel his flames trickle down his veins. The man’s hand lit up in oceanic blues as his fist brightened in summer oranges, mixing until the blue swept by and up his arm. He gasped loudly at the sudden rush of heat straight into his chest as though it were filling a deep trench. His fist shook and struggled to get away but the man shushed him. “ _Breathe_. Let them heal you.”

The man raised his arm as Galo inhaled and exhaled when the arm lowered, repeating until the pouring flames felt as natural as his breath. His muscles awoke, energy resupplied as he finally struggled to rise up. The man continued to hold his hand as he effortlessly swung his feet off the table, seeing now his pillow was just a crumbled jacket and the floor beneath them sand. He couldn’t take a moment to truly revel in the magic of his healed body when only one question screamed in his head. “Where… are we?”

“The Waste.” The man’s hand fell away as he stood up, eyeing both him and the little girl. “Your new home.”

A loud crash had most of the men huddled in the small room flinching. “ _Where’s_ Galo Thymos?”

That same feminine voice came right through the shoddy doorframe with an angry woman to back it up. While she still wore her intimidating spiky lion armor, her helmet was gone to reveal the biggest blonde Mohawk he’d ever laid eyes upon. “You little runt! Do you know how many months of planning you _wasted_?”

Despite the burly man standing up, she pushed past him, startling the girl to hop off the table and run over to a corner. Galo tried to stop his shaking and gripped the edges of the table, glaring right back at the woman. “Me? I don’t even know you! You were the one trying to assassinate Governor Foresight!”

“Duh! And I had a clean shot to blast his head off!” The woman shook her fingers to then throw them down. “But then you had to go and try it yourself! Pretty reckless; I would have been proud any other day aside from the _perfect opportunity to wipe him out_!”

Her news was startling, leaning back slightly only to try and force his voice to be louder than hers. Sickening anger burst alongside disruptive sparks firing off his fingers into the wood. “I didn’t start that fire! I would never, ever try to hurt Governor Foresight! Or anyone for that matter!”

A flash of fire caught onto the woman, igniting her in his roaring greens and fading oranges. He snapped his hands back with a loud gasp but the woman hardly flinched. “I can see by the monkey suit you were brainwashed perfectly. Don’t you get pawns are the easiest to get rid of?”

At her mention, his anger turned to the suit that pinched at his chest. A quick twist of the tie had his fires eating through the cloth. He tossed it aside as he wrestled with the jacket to repeat. “Stupid!! It must have been you guys!”

He felt the group’s exposed expressions as he threw the collared shirt off last, caring not for his exposed chest so long as he didn’t have to be the monkey the crazy lion lady ridiculed him as. “You started that fire! You wanted him dead, so it makes sense! Yo-you ruined everything!!”

“You think we’re that stupid?” Her long nails dug into his skull as she leaned down far enough to make direct eye contact. “Burnish can’t project that far! The only person who could have caused that chain reaction had to be on the stage! And if it wasn’t you, dumbass, than you were fantastically set up to take the fall.”

“Stop lying!” The only fist he threw was easily caught by the woman, who tightened her grip enough to make him choke.

“Listen to me, kid.” Her tone lowered, scanning his eyes as though she was trying to directly find his soul. “You were _used_. Kray was never going to bring burnish back into Promepolis. He used you as bait to draw a crowd, make you expose yourself and set you up to take the fall. The only thing he needed was one burnish. I bet the bastard is enacting laws right now to round up every last one of our brothers and sisters for experimentation.”

“Stop it!” His voice strained, hiccupping as all he felt was searing hot tears down his cheeks. Sobs racked his shoulders from the carved wound she kept scooping out of his heart. “K-Kray would never do that! Th-the settlements…”

“Oh, those!” Snagged by his hair, he was dragged off the table and through the crowd. He cried with hands trying to shove her off, but her claws kept him from thrashing too hard, less he want holes in his skull.

Another loud kick sent Galo stumbling, the woman yelling. “Take a look!”

The harsh winds blew over a vast sea of sand. It stuck to his cheeks from his tears, turning his head sideways at the faded giant buildings of Promepolis. Everything else was a wasteland of odd mountains and nothingness.

Slowly, he started to turn around to where they were; a sadly built hovel with nothing else to stand by it. The woman leaned on the doorway with pain he couldn’t understand lining her features. “Wake up, kid. The Waste is our only refuge. You’re subhuman; inferior and everyone wants you dead. The only ones we can trust are our own kind and even then, you sometimes find rats.”

It felt like a fantasy now and looking back, it always sounded like one. Banned burnish were taken to a small settlement just outside the city, where professionals worked to see how they mutated and help them through life. An isolating life, but full of opportunity. The harsh wind was like a slap to his face.

“You gonna stand there forever?” With a coaxing of a claw, Galo’s legs automatically walked him back into the hovel. His mind was as numb as his body, routed back to the small room to sit down on the table. The little girl had made her way out of the corner, noticing his blank expression. When she came over to touch his hand, he didn’t remember.

There was talk of transportation; of a carrier arriving soon. It all went in one ear and out the other until the woman said something specific. “Make sure the kids are on board.”

“We’re leaving?” The girl asked for him, her small hand tightening around his.

The woman didn’t look to be in any mood to deal with either of them. “We don’t allow kids to join Mad Burnish. Luckily, we got a friend way up north that can relocate you two. Something better than this shit stain.”

It nearly came simultaneously, both Galo and the girl shouting. “No!”

“I have to go back!”

“I want Mommy and Daddy! I want to go home!”

“I’m sorry, did I say you had a choice?” The woman spat, her clawed hand opened as it arched away from her temple. “Do we need to have another ‘pep’ talk?”

He touched over his hair, still feeling his roots tugged as the girl was growing delirious. “T-Take us back! Please!”

The woman had a growl to her voice, storming off. “I can’t take this. You guys babysit.”

It was Galo who held the girl back from running to her, pressing her against his chest as her arms reached out. “Please! Please let us leave! W-We promise to be good!”

Somehow, the will to fight had all but left with the woman. No amount of pleading or crying from the girl had the men relenting. Their pained expressions and even more painful responses didn’t help either of them. This was reality. His catalyst.

Galo’s heart nearly stopped when he heard something large pull up outside. Talk he didn’t understand was exchanged, a loud sigh from the woman, who, when he peeked through the wooden slabs of the wall, could see her own troubles weighing her down. “Almost had him. Could have been all over.”

Boxes were brought in, items that had no label, and two men in ratty clothes came for them. The girl struggled and screamed and it was Galo who had to move them both through the small shack, past the poor souls out into the desert to the old cargo van waiting.

Stepping up into the back shattered a part of his mind and ripped his heart, glancing back towards the lingering towers of home. Remi. Ignis. Governor Foresight. His friends. His life.

No words were said. No words could be said.

They were told to pack themselves between the boxes as he huddled close to the girl. In her eyes, he saw the same fracture and bunched his knees to hold her close to him.

The engine started. Inertia jerked them as they began to move. Galo’s eyes were lost to the adjacent wall, seeing nothing. A line of dark skin had him glance to his left arm. Scars trailed up his skin to his shoulder as his fingers explored. No physical pain as he clutched his chest at the sweltering pain that pushed in.

“Galo…?” The girl’s voice was ever so tiny.

Her tired head rested over his chest, staring up in a sea of isolation. “I don’t want to be alone…”

Me too. He couldn’t say it with the knot in his throat, taking a shaky breath. “We’ll… be okay…”

He still didn’t know who his only companion was. “What’s your name?”

The girl shifted, drawing her knee closer. “…Thyma.”

With Thyma clutched close by, he stared at what little light shined through the grates blocking them from the driver’s seat to a new life he never wished for.

* * *

“Lio?”

Lio snapped back to the present to feel cold droplets under his chin. Galo’s hand was tight around his. “You’re shaking.”

Now that Galo pointed it out, he noticed it too. The shadow of the parking garage had grown, the blues of the skies a darker shade. “I can stop.”

“N-No,” Lio cursed his unsteady tone, wiping away what was left with his untouched hand. “I never… he ruined your life.” Galo stayed silent, even when Lio felt a dormant rage begin to stir. He felt unbelievably cold that Galo hadn’t mentioned anyone else being piled into the van. “He ruined a _child’s_ life!”

“I wouldn’t call it ruined.” The firm squeeze kept him grounded. “There’s still more. Wanna know what happened to that kid?”

He didn’t understand the strength Galo had to continue. But he dropped his head back on Galo’s, sighing. “I do.”

Flames flickered deep within, closing his eyes to feel for Galo’s own. It radiated so close, wishing he could hold it tenderly to his chest. His own story was too trapped between layers of guilt, respite and trauma to ever be completely told, yet Galo laid himself bare. To him.

He could never be as strong.

“We traveled for weeks. Huddled in that little van. Some days we didn’t eat. Other days we were trapped inside empty boxes so that we wouldn’t be found at checkpoints. But eventually, we made it to that fabled north.”

* * *

The snow never fazed Galo with the internal oven he hosted. The flurry beyond those blackened doors was something he’d never experienced. Inches high of snow in a barren spot of hell, where the trees were dense and he could hardly see beyond his nose. 

Taking that final step down out of the van was another reality check. Poor Thyma quivering by his side like a feather against the wind and he wished he’d kept his stupid jacket to wrap around her. By their side were a few large crates of who knows what that the men had piled off. The men that had taken them so far hardly made small talk and neither did they.

His pathetic flames flickered out in the snowstorm and his stomach curdled when he heard the backdoors close and the backlights flash. Thyma tried rushing for it in an act of hysteria, but Galo managed to secure his arms over her waist, pulling her back.

“Don’t leave us! We’ll die out here!” But the van didn’t listen. It simply rolled down the tracks it’d made and disappeared into the dense fog.

Her hands pushed and punched his arms. “Let go! Galo, let go!”

“You’ll die if you chase after it!” How heavy his words crashed over Thyma’s head, her thrashing slowing. She stared up with sudden tears as her trembling worsened. They could hardly qualify as children anymore.

“Children?” The new voice spooked the two. Thyma was pushed behind as his fire roared up from his palm.

“Stay back!”

“Children!” Two hands reached through the fog dragging with them an elder woman. Her features were just as startled as theirs, hands over her mouth. “Where’s your shirt, dear? And oh, such a young girl.”

A sharp roll of her wrist drew forth her own flames, settling some animosity in the air. She drew closer as Thyma continued to hide. “Don’t be afraid. You’re safe here.”

As she spoke a few other warmly dressed individuals came out pulling makeshift sleds. The crates were loaded and taken back into the abyss with only remorse in their eyes if Galo caught a glance.

Galo gritted his teeth as the biting cold was starting to seep into his veins. “We’re not safe anywhere.”

The woman’s face twisted into melancholy, settling on her knees. “Here, you are. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been brought here. No one other than burnish could survive in these conditions, let alone one without a shirt.”

A small jab at his chest had her smiling, but it was hard for him to do that in return. Their prison was all they knew and the woman seemed to understand that enough. She rose again with both hands outstretched. “I can take you to a warm village with many other kids your age. Sound nice?”

It sounded like something out of a horror film, but Galo bit his tongue for Thyma still hiding. Miraculously, Thyma maneuvered her way around Galo, her small hand taking the boney fingers. Galo felt a little too old to be holding someone’s hand, awkwardly stepping by the woman’s side. That was all she needed to guide them through the snowbanks from the way she came, vanishing through the flurry.

The ice turned to slush and drenched his tattered dress pants. The flurry of snow felt like a cold shower on his skin. Every minute he flared up just to keep the water from freezing into a thin sheet of ice. A brief glance over his shoulder, he noticed their footsteps were rapidly covered back in the snow.

Finally, when the ice was seeping into his skin like needles, hands covering his arms, did they see colorful lights in the distance. The old woman spoke again, a smile in her voice. “We’re home, kids.”

Home lied beyond the trees in a small clearing of stumps. A skinny man garbed in that same strange metal armor was perched in one of the outer tree’s branches, nodding to the woman without a word. Inside the ring was a semicircle of large wooden cabins with working chimneys pumping smoke upwards into the murky grey skies. A large bonfire of rainbows hosted a few older adults who sat on logs wearing knitted clothes.

“It looks cozy.” Thyma murmured, still keeping a tight hold on the woman.

“We call it Thurmage.” The woman answered back, leading the two over to the large bonfire.

There was only one who sat by themself with large wolves seated around him. “Mr. Valence.” At his name being called, he glanced back with a cloudy eye. A head full of white and was just as large as the man who tended to their wounds. “More recruits?”

“Two children.” The woman eased Galo and Thyma forward.

The child talk pushed enough buttons as Galo proclaimed. “I’m not a child! I’m 14.”

“You sound like a child to me.” Mr. Valance stated as he got a good look at him with his one grey eye. “Only a child would be dumb enough to come half-naked to a frozen wasteland.”

“No one told us we’d be coming!” Galo snapped back. “We didn’t ask for this!”

“None of us did.” The gruff, stern tone left little leeway for fighting back. He turned back to the embers and brushed a hand up. “See to it they get properly dressed and introduced. If you want to eat, you work.”

Another helper got up as the woman pushed on Thyma. She realized what was happening at the same time Galo did, for she suddenly started screaming. “I’m not going! I’m staying with Galo! No!”

No amount of reassurance stopped Thyma from thrashing and trying to get away, the girl ready to burst into tears again. Galo thankfully wasn’t grabbed as he hollered over. “It’s okay, Thyma! It won’t be long!”

That helped calm her nerves enough to let the woman stop dragging her and lead her away. What awaited Galo was the last cabin in the camp full of multitier wooden bunk beds with sad, large pillows for mattresses and tough blankets. The age range differed from boys younger than him to some who almost looked like adults. Some eyes were still fresh, but most were worn and dull.

The work Mr. Valance mentioned consisted of chopping trees and taking long trips down to a frozen river for water. With a scratchy knitted sweater pulled over chest and with hardly any training on slicing with his flames, Galo was delegated to water duty with a few other boys. There was no concept of time, no afternoon or evening in the thick winter. The water was taken to the back of the cabins, where a large metal can sitting over a roaring pink fire was tended to by a few women. A larger lid drooped over the sides with a circle of buckets filled at various levels to catch the cleansed water.

Take a bucket, heat the river, scoop a bucket, walk it back, dump the bucket, go back again. By the time the dinner bell rang he almost collapsed in front of the bonfire. Dinner, handled by both young and older girls, consisted of an amalgamation of soups that were stored inside the crates. Beef stew mixed with Chicken noodle soup hardly made for an appetizing meal. Thyma sat next to him as they were regaled stories from an older gentleman who spoke of the time before the Great World Blaze. A time when the land they stood on was a bustling city now lost to the severe climate change.

Once bowls were cleaned and washed, Galo was escorted back to work and hours later, back to the cabin. The rest of the boys had piled in when he arrived, fighting for pillows or trying to rest their sore muscles. It was a show of lights and small flames as everyone tried seeing in the bleak dark. Galo didn’t realize how many colors existed as he stared back at his Halloween themed flares. There was something almost magical about it, but in these conditions, he hardly felt wondrous.

“I give him a week.” One mumbled over his breath, not trying to hide his bet.

“What does that mean?” Galo asked with a sharp tone, trying to find which bed he was assigned.

“Before you try running.” A boy huddled next to the first spoke. “You look like a runner.”

He’d found his bed, a lower bunk, sadly, and situated himself atop the lumpy mattress. “Well duh I’m getting out of here! I’m not staying in ice land! Promepolis is probably toasted by now! Governor Foresight could be dead!”

“Who?” The boy quirked an eyebrow with a bored expression. He turned to his buddy with a thumb jabbed his way. “See? Runner. I wanna see the wolves chase him.”

“Just wait till you’re old enough.” A boy who sat on a higher bunk and looked his age sighed. “Once you’re an adult Mr. Valance lets you leave. Until then, he’s ‘keeping us safe’.”

“How is this safe?” Galo gestured out. “We’re in the middle of nowhere! Living like…like pilgrims! Pilgrims with fire!”

“My bet’s on three days.” Another boy piped into the bet.

It seemed his cohorts were more amused at when he would try to leave, growling. “Don’t any of you want to go? What about your friends? Your families!”

That got a look and shut a few up. The animosity spiked but Galo didn’t back down. “Burnish shouldn’t be living like this! Just… pushed to some corner to fend for themselves! We should be trying to make peace! We’re not monsters!”

“Hah. Good one.” The tension directed back to the original boy, who scoffed. “Burnish aren’t monsters. Try getting anyone else to believe that.”

“Or not shoot at us.” Another boy made a gun out of his fingers and pointed it to another.

“Or try to capture us.” A third chimed in and the conversations flowed.

“Maybe you had it good back home, but us? This is all we have.” The hopelessness was almost suffocating. Just when Galo contemplated bolting out for some air the front door creaked open.

“Galo?”

“Girl alert!” All heads poked out of the bunks at Thyma squeaking and shutting the door behind her. “Go back to your room!”

“Leave her alone!” Galo jumped out of bed and barked to the rest.

Thyma rushed over to press her face into his chest with a strong hug. “Galo!” She pressed her chin into his sweater. “They found you a sweater.”

That was funny enough for her to giggle. He smiled back down and ruffled the knitted hat trapping her wild hair. “They found you a whole closet of stuff!”

Her giggles grew until she buried her head back into his chest. “…Can I sleep with you?”

After so many nights with her head on his shoulder, drifting in and out of sleep in the van, he felt the loneliness too the moment they had to be separated.

“Seriously, Mr. Valance will _kill_ us for having a girl in here.” A worried voice spoke.

He gripped Thyma tighter and began ushering her to his bed. “Then Mr. Valance doesn’t find out.”

His stern tone seemed to spook the younger ones into being quiet, but the older ones gave him a look of challenge. He tried to match it back, already feeling the power struggle in the room. Galo Thymos hadn’t backed down from a fight yet.

With a little help getting into bed, he shared most of his blanket with Thyma as fires extinguished one by one. Galo kept his lit between them, letting Thyma play with it and let her own flicker against his. “You feeling better?”

Thyma squirmed by his side, face scrunched. “The girls are nice… but I don’t want to stay here. I wanna go home.”

No matter how much she repeated it, it kept chipping away at his heart. Never losing an ounce of pain. “Me too.”

“How long are we gonna have to stay?” She looked to him for guidance.

Galo wished he had an answer for her. “… It won’t be long. I’ll think of something. Then you and me,” He touched her sweater, garnering that innocent smile. “We’re going right back to Promepolis to set things right.”

“Then I’ll see mommy and daddy.” The words were as heavy as her falling lashes. Compared to the van, the ratty mattress was a dream. He laid down beside her as she closed her eyes. “Going…home…”

“Mhm, back home.” As Thyma’s breathing stilled he stared into his fires. The voices murmured in the back of his head, but they were calm, not the drilling bugs they’d been his whole life. The more he burned, the lesser they spoke and the more he felt like himself. He brought the fire to reveal his scars, Kray’s voice sharp as ever in his mind.

The flames wrapped around his arm as he drew the flames inward, back down the deep trench. He sharply gasped when the tips of the scars lightened and he pulled harshly back. The rest stayed dead while he gave his flames a new gaze.

No.

He needed them to stay.

Splotchy and permanent, just as the memory had to be. He cuddled close to Thyma and felt her small wicks between their bodies. His light blew out once he closed his eyes.

* * *

“There you are, boss!” Lio jolted and found himself back in the Waste. Galo’s hand left his as they peered to Gueira, Meis, and Thyma walking over.

“You went missing for hours! We thought you went out on a raid without us!” Gueira almost sounded spooked at the prospect of a raid without him.

The sky had turned orange with wisps of purple and the incense had burned down to nubs. Meis half-crouched with a sly expression. “Man boss, if you wanted some privacy, you didn’t have to come out here! I wouldn’t risk getting sand in my crotch, even with a rug.”

“Knock it off!” Thyma almost slapped the two upside the head, completely exasperated.

Lio’s face had already exploded into red as Galo’s back disappeared. He caught himself before he completely fell while Galo moved towards the group. His silly sleeve was back on as though nothing happened. “The sand isn’t that bad! Means the showers are more intimate. Gotta save that water!”

“Oh my god, you two.” Thyma droned as Meis and Galo fist-bumped.

Lio could hardly settle the flusters in his heart at the idea of sharing a small, enclosed space with Galo naked. Galo always said stupid things, it was hard to tell if this was one of them.

He properly stood up and brushed his legs down, tone cutting through the rest of the shenanigans. “Now that you mention it, I did wish to address some plans I’d been working through. All generals need to be in attendance.”

“Yes, more raids!” Gueira pumped a few fists and looped both arms around Galo and Meis. “You got it, boss! One meeting, getting ready!”

Just as they tried to drag Galo off he flexed his fingers back. “Galo, a word.”

“Sorry guys, special privilege.” Galo slipped his way out of their arms with a shit-eating grin that both brushed off. They knew where to head, watching as Thyma pulled Galo aside for a moment.

“Doing better?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. You don’t have to baby me.”

“Who’s the one babying who?”

The ruffle of Thyma’s hair, backed with her loud complaining and fists into his chest truly captured what Galo had been talking about moments ago. Galo marched back over once Thyma had been ushered off. “Alright, boss! So what did you want to tell me?”

He leaned down with a hand by his ear, eyebrows raised. Sometimes Galo’s antics annoyed the hell out of him, trying to keep a stern expression. Yet with more eyebrow wiggles, it broke into something gentler. “You didn’t have to tell me all that. But thank you for putting your trust in me.”

“Trust? That had nothing to do with it.” Galo stood back up as Lio was the confused one now. His hand felt especially warm on his back, settling low and around his waist. “I told you because I wanted to. I care about you a lot, Lio.”

The voices sang in his mind with his fire so close, and for a brief second, he thought of pulling Galo down by his stupidly large shoulders and kissing that declaration off his lips. It sounded so right, but he refrained from the little pit in his stomach that there was a possibility of Galo pulling away in disgust. “And so do I.”

Galo smiled, but something was lost behind it. Was it his tone? He plucked the vase off the rug to allow Galo to roll it up. “Besides, that’s not the entire story.”

The teasing tone snagged Lio’s interests. “Oh?”

“Don’t you want to know what happened to the Great Galo Thymos?” The rug was slung behind his head, continuing to keep that cheesy grin.

“Hm, I can take a guess.” They made footprints in the sand as they walked side-by-side out towards the last shreds of light. Lio eyed Galo’s left hand dangling by his hand and retook it. The familiar squeeze warmed his heart, still staring at his sleeve where his scars hid.

“…Galo?”

“Yeah?”

“Have you considered a second inked sleeve?”


End file.
